[1] As of 2023, the members of Forum Macao are: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste.
[1] As a result, China views Macao as an ideal location for coordination with the Portuguese-speaking countries.
[2]: 63 China seeks to build closer links between Forum Macao and the Belt and Road Initiative.
[2]: 62 David H. Shinn and academic Joshua Eisenman write that São Tomé and Príncipe's presence at the 2006 Forum Macao meeting as an unofficial observer may have begun the process of São Tomé and Príncipe switching its diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the People's Republic of China.
[2]: 63 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 meeting of Forum Macao occurred via videolink and focused on pandemic-related issues.